U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold Rating

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

USPH has been the subject of several other reports. JMP Securities assumed coverage on U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $113.00 price objective for the company. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America raised U.S. Physical Therapy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $115.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Citizens Jmp raised shares of U.S. Physical Therapy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, U.S. Physical Therapy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.00.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE USPH traded up $4.66 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $70.59. 184,202 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 105,136. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $79.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.38. U.S. Physical Therapy has a 52 week low of $62.77 and a 52 week high of $108.14.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.04). U.S. Physical Therapy had a return on equity of 8.11% and a net margin of 3.54%. The company had revenue of $180.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $173.10 million. Analysts predict that U.S. Physical Therapy will post 2.67 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.11, for a total value of $142,050.30. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $588,564.48. This represents a 19.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Physical Therapy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,084,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,179,000 after purchasing an additional 6,393 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 839,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,459,000 after purchasing an additional 72,715 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 17.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 667,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,522,000 after purchasing an additional 99,244 shares during the last quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC grew its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC now owns 571,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,725,000 after buying an additional 24,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 426,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,818,000 after buying an additional 7,890 shares during the last quarter.

About U.S. Physical Therapy

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc operates outpatient physical therapy clinics. The company operates through Physical Therapy Operations and Industrial Injury Prevention Services segments. The company provides pre-and post-operative care and treatment for orthopedic-related disorders, sports-related injuries, preventative care, rehabilitation of injured workers, and neurological-related injuries.